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Decorating with Mirrors

Mirrors are as common in decorating as wall paint, but a particularly stylish one can lend sparkle to an entire room. Read on for some of our most memorable mirrors.

Notes of blue and gold throughout the dining room are exhibited beautifully in the painted commode and giltwood mirror shown here. The mirror’s traditional detailing complements the hand-stenciled, striated walls behind.

Why We Love It
The mirror’s worn finish incorporates the blues of the commode and the Louis XVI-style chair as well as glints of gold to add sparkle.

On a towering fireplace made of stacked stones hangs a dramatic mirror that follows the mantel up to the ceiling. The mirror’s verticality is also reflected in the cascading draperies adorning the two-story floor-to-ceiling windows.

Why We Love It
Aside from its sheer drama, we appreciate how the tall mirror borrowed its linear pattern from the lines formed by the stacked stones of the fireplace.

Retro styles like sunburst mirrors make a great statement piece for any room. This bedroom sitting area, designed by Katherine Shenaman, is wrapped in a lavender wall covering and appointed with saffron-yellow wing chairs and pops of bright green. The large brass sunburst mirror adds texture to the wall and brightens the space.

Why We Love It
A mirror with such striking style as this works wonderfully as an art piece on a large wall.

Designer Eileen Kathryn Boyd suggests grouping ornamental mirrors together to create an interesting wall sculpture, rather than assigning each individually to a more formal space. This technique works with any collection of similar objects.

Why We Love It
An assemblage like this one caters to those with the tendency to collect certain items—gilt-framed mirrors, for example. And never underestimate the power of grouping. It can be a source of endless fascination.

In designer Skip Sroka’s home, scale is everything. He topped the mantel with a large gold-leaf mirror, a similar size and shape as the living room’s tall windows. This keeps the lines consistent around the perimeter of the space, while reflecting natural light in the space between windows. Plus, the mirror conceals a television so it is easily hidden for formal occasions!

Why We Love It
The mirror’s subtle Greek-key motif is repeated in the living room’s rug and upholstery details, tying the space together.

An arched niche in this showhouse powder room was the perfect spot for designers Melissa Ziober and Noe X. Guerra to make a statement. The circular mirror complements the niche’s rounded shape, while the grass cloth surrounding it lends texture.

Why We Love It
The mirror’s hefty size and shape give it serious personality, but its gilded edges and beige-toned paint allow it to blend in with the powder room’s subdued palette.

A chinoiserie corner cabinet boasts mirror-paneled doors and gilt detailing to bring traditional flair to this elegant formal dining room in the home of acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier.

Why We Love It
Large furnishings tend to add weight to a space, and mirrored details are a fabulous way to lighten the mood. This cabinet’s mirrored doors invite natural light into the corner, making the dining room appear larger.

A collection of variously sized convex mirrors establishes the focal point wall in this showhouse bedroom. The effect was glamorous without going over the top. The grouping’s asymmetry also complements the curvaceous chaise longue at the foot of the bed.

Why We Love It
The mirrors’ black frames echo the frame of the bed and curtains rods, tying the room together with the same dark accent shade.

A round mirror from Julian Chichester hangs in the entry of designer Samantha Todhunter’s residence for the Ritz-Carlton Designer Showcase in Chicago. The mirror’s shagreen-type texture adds interest, while its hue underscores the vibrancy of the hand-painted wall covering behind.

Why We Love It
The mirror’s simplicity adds to, rather than detracts from, the playful patterns behind it. The lacquered console table below also works to achieve this balance.

Designed by Kendall Wilkinson and homeowner Robin Donohoe, this lavender guest bath is accented with glittery gold and metallic details, but the starring role goes to the ornate Venetian mirror that hangs above the mirrored washstand.

Why We Love It
The room’s soft lavender walls and sparkling details keeps the space feeling fresh and feminine.

Designed by Scott Laslie, this elegant living room’s focal point is the attention-grabbing fireplace. Above the polished quartz surround is a wall of bronze-tinted mirror that reflects warm light back into the room. Hanging over the bronze mirror is another mirror, this one antique and gilt-framed.

Why We Love It
The combination of the bronze mirror, framed oval mirror, and polished nickel fire screen dotted with crystals creates a warmly luminescent atmosphere that draws attention to this area of the living room.

A classic vanity features mirrored front panels and elegant detailing in this serene boudoir. Glittering drawer pulls lend a touch of glam, while a built-in dressing table is presided over by a mirror from Cachet Ltd.

Why We Love It
Aside from the vanity’s traditional charm, the accompanying sconces are positioned to be reflected in the multiple mirrors surrounding them for maximum reflection. It’s the ideal place to prepare for the day ahead.

The “Julian Mirror” from Niermann Weeks boasts a distressed finish that grounds the foyer in this Virginia row home.

Why We Love It
The pairing of the glossy black lamp shade and dark glass of the mirror carry the visual weight of the scene, allowing more playful elements—like the ceramic green plant holders and the artwork over the mirror—to add character to the space.

This modern master bath is both livable and stylish. The mirror is equipped with a built-in television, perfect for catching the morning headlines while preparing for the workday.

Why We Love It
The mirror, from Seura, is backlit so that it lights up the entire frame. This eliminates the need for wall scones or overhead lighting, keeping the space looking streamlined and contemporary.

A custom ebony-stained mirror hangs above the mantel in this beach house living room, designed by Barclay Butera. The round frame provides visual weight to ground the room’s many patterns.

Why We Love It
The simple dark frame of the mirror is echoed in the set of framed prints on either side of the mantel, as well as in the iron base of the glass-topped coffee table, keeping the room’s heaviest tones balanced and symmetrical.

Antiqued mirror tiles form the front of the built-in vanity in this glamorous Texas bath. Shaded sconces are mounted on the large mirror above, doubling the light and illuminating the marble countertop below.

Why We Love It
Bathrooms are the perfect place for mirrors, and the more the merrier. This bath builds on its reflective personality with Carrara marble to keep the space bright and clean.

A Newport Beach home brings a touch of the shore inside with a seashell-encrusted mirror in the entry. More seashells line the shelves of the antique bamboo cabinet below.

Why We Love It
The pinks and yellows of the seashell mirror blend in with the woven wall covering and bamboo cabinet below, but all three elements inject the space with texture and keep it from blending together.

The foyer of this lovely Louisiana home carries some serious French flair. An 18th-century French fruitwood commode sits below another priceless French antique: The trumeau mirror is framed in gold and features a pastoral scene painted on the top panel.

Why We Love It
The colors of the trumeau’s painting and the wood of the commode warm the space, while gold details—like the mirror’s frames and upholstered seat of the lyre-backed chair—add interest.

A wall of French doors with dramatic window treatments is broken up with tall mirrors in between the doors. To achieve an aged look that would fit in with the room’s regal furnishings, designer Geoff De Sousa commissioned a decorative artist to give the mirrors’ frames a gold-bronze rub.

Why We Love It
Placing large mirrors in between the existing windows keeps the illusion of light consistent around the perimeter of the room.

When space is scarce, like in this recent college grad’s brownstone apartment, rooms often need to pull double duty to retain their value. Subtle elegant details, like the Venetian-style edging of this mirror, lend a polished look to this desk area, which in turn allows the desk to double as a vanity.

Why We Love It
Imperfections are part of life, and can also benefit the buyer: This mirror was fetched at a bargain price from Anthropologie because of slight damage.

A tiny powder room maximizes its dimensions with a mirror over the entire wall above a marble-topped vanity, which also stretches wall-to-wall to conserve space.

Why We Love It
Not only do the wall-mounted sconces save space and double the light, but the second mirror hung over the wall features delicate details, which make the space feel more feminine and welcoming.

The mirrors in this dining room “weigh a ton!” says designer Lisa Sternfeld. “Not literally, of course, but they are solid, thick, chiseled glass, and when they reflect the sunlight in the space, they’re magical.”

Why We Love It
The dining room’s cool palette seems receptive to details that so closely mimic ice, like the mirrors’ chiseled edges.